Mireya Adame
Professor Nappo
ENC1101
December 4, 2014
Cheaters never prosper, Right? Cheating is defined as acting dishonestly or unfairly to gain an advantage especially in a game or examination. Since childhood, we are taught through playground games that cheaters never prosper and are shunned for peaking through their hands in a game of hide-and-seek. But at what point does someone have the realization that it is okay to cheat and that they could get farther in their ambitions if they cheat? As we grow older, we form our own belief that it is more acceptable depending on our own circumstances. Cheating has become a double standard that over the past years is more commonly practiced in not just academics but also in relationships. Cheating is frequent in academics throughout all grade levels and even well into college. It does not matter what level of education someone is achieving, they will in some time or another cheat. Most forms of cheating begin as a feeling of needing to outshine someone else; a sense of competitiveness and pressure to thrive. Cheating becomes easier with all the access advancing technology has provided, “enabling students to connect instantly with answers, friends to consult and works to plagiarize.” (Peréz-Peña). Jeffrey A. Roberts and David M. Wasieleski conducted a study that shows when colleges provide more online tools to complete an assignment then students are more likely to commit plagiarism. It makes it much easier to find the information needed through the computer or phone to send a text for an answer, than it is risking getting caught sharing information in person. Many people have changed their attitudes of what to consider as cheating. It’s no longer viewed as something that is not morally ethical. It is given little consideration, “In the programs that colleges run to help new students make the transition from high school, students are counseled on everything from food to friendships, but ‘little or no time is spent on cheating’…” (Peréz-Peña) If little focus is given on properly teaching and enforcing integrity, then students drop the whole concept and are more willing to cheat and any opportunity presented to them. Over the years, cheating in committed relationships has become more publically advertised and preformed freely without remorse by one or the other partner. In relationships, cheating was once stereotyped as something that was common in men when they had urges, but recently women have been reported to do just as much cheating as men. In our society we become desensitized from the concept of cheating because many have grown up listening to the phrase “Half of all marriages end up in divorce.” Many well known couples who have had a partner cheat are all over social Medias and on the television being criticized by a talk show host. It was normal to hear about couples cheating to the point where people begin to just joke about it. For example, the accident in the elevator where Beyonce’s sister attacked Jay Z supposedly for cheating was parodied in a song and joked in a way as to avoid the whole topic of why Solange might have attacked him in the first place.
Cheating in a relationship doesn’t necessarily mean sexual infidelity but most associate the term with that action. There are many reasons why couples cheat such as cheating because of lack emotional satisfaction. “Seeking emotional intimacy can be nearly as compelling a reason to have an affair…” (Whitbourne) Emotions are often use as an excuse to cheat. The action of cheating could just refer to becoming emotionally attached to someone else in the same way as a spouse. It begins to produce a sense of jealousy and the term is misused. The partner who cheats feels good for doing so and has a sense of satisfaction, especially if they get away with it. Though cheating has been frequent in academics and relationships, many believe that the concept of cheating is happening less in our society. A study conducted by